PINELLAS COUNTY — PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — There are still many things to work out for Pinellas County Schools, and after delaying the start by 12 days, they say they'll have more time to adjust.
“Everything is on the table. I’m not taking anything off the table. We are going to lead with the advice of doctors and medical evidence and also the safety of our citizens,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Grego.
An initial district survey found only 40% of students plan to return for traditional school. Fifty-five percent say they want to try MyPCS online and the remaining 5% say they will use virtual school.
Many teachers are worried about returning to the classroom and say school should be online only until COVID-19 numbers significantly decline.
“Look at what the department of health campaign is right now. Avoid close spaces, avoid large groups. The three C’s. What do those three C’s describe? Schools. And when the schools reopen you will see a new explosion of cases and community transmission unlike anything we’ve seen up to this point,” said Travis Lueth.
Grego says as fast as circumstances are changing they need to guard against making premature decisions.
“The last four or five months have proven that we’ve been looking at the issues as a state every two weeks," he said.
Next up, the district is sending out a new survey to see how many students want to take the bus.
They are also training substitutes on safety procedures with hopes of assigning them to specific schools.
